Sightseeing:
The whole Chanps-Elysees, Place de la concorde, Jardin des tuileries, Musee du Louvre is definitely worth it. Nice walk, the louvre is amazing but too big, choose a few galleries and don’t overdo it. It’s crowded and exhausting. There are a few nice cafes / restaurant actually in the Jardin des tuileries.
Another area not to be missed is the Marais (Metro Hotel de ville). It’s a mixed quarter (Gay, jew, Chinese… very diverse and fun), it’s also the oldest architecture in Paris… beautiful. Not to be missed: The Picasso museum and Place des Vosges. Tons of great restaurants too… Café Trésor (place du trésor, off of Rue vieille du temple) has a very nice terrace.
Quartier St Germain is also great to walk around. My favorite is also Rue Mouffetard and place de la contre-escarpe.
A quarter that people often miss is the Canal St Martin. Metro is either Republique or Gare de l’est and walk to the canal. It’s a great walk, little shops, galleries, bars and cafes. L’hotel du Nord is actually a nice restaurant (not a hotel though), and Chez Prune is a typical parisian café where people meet up for a drink after work.
If you want to get out of the city for a day, You should take the train to Versailles (40mins max) and go to the Castle. They might even have open air theater at that time of year – you should check. The castle is beautiful, but moreover the park is amazing. You can rent bicycles, picnic in the park. It’s much less crowed than Paris and makes a nice break! The open air Market – Rue de la Paroisse (10mins walk from the castle) is also a great adventure. But it’s only every 2 / 3 days or so, and in the morning only.
If you miss the open air market in Versailles, there is a great one on Saturday or Sunday morning Rue d’Aligre in the 12th quarter not too far from Bastille. If you goes there around 11am / 12am, some of the stands have few tables / chairs and you can eat fresh oysters or other stuff directly from the market. It’s fun. Once you’re in that area, there is a long park built on an old railway line called “La coulee verte”. It’s worth it.
Montmartre is also beautiful. It’s in the 18th area. Metro: Blanche, then go up Rue Lepic. And up Rue Tholoze and Up till you reach the Sacre coeur. Very touristy, but few good cafes and restaurant Rue des abbesses
My friend’s Places to See
* The Louvre – definitely worth a visit for a few
hours and make sure you walk around the surrounding area, especially
the Champs Elysees, Jardin des Tuileries and Place de la concorde
* The Eiffel Tower - the lines are long and I would
encourage aggressive ‘cutting’ to get in and out in a reasonable
amount of time, but I think it’s a must do and you should go all the
way up
* A Walk along the Seine – grab a baguette, cheese
and wine and sit along the Seine, maybe by Notre Dame, and watch the
city go by. At night, take a walk across the Pont de la Neuf or one of
the many bridges, and I don’t need to say much more …
* Montmartre - Visit the Sacre Coeur and sit on the
steps and see the entire city. The area is touristy, but worth walking
through the square and seeing the artists and stopping at a café
* Marais – Eclectic neighborhood and crowd, but must
go to the Place des Vosges and the Picasso Museum and find a nice bar
(around the square or nearby) or restaurant (L’as du Falafel !!)
If you feel like leaving the city :
Chateau de Versailles
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage?isMobile=0http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage?isMobile=0
This is a all day trip but totally worth it. They can access it by subway or Regional Train RER C. Here is the link for the access instruction.
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit/single/accesshttp://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit/single/access
Catacombes.
Super spooky.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Parishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris
http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htmhttp://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm
(go in the morning)
Places to go :
Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur Church :
This is great to walk around and discover the small streets.
The Dali Museum is at the top of the hill, where there are also a lot of cute creperies. This is where Amelie was flimed.
http://www.daliparis.com/http://www.daliparis.com/
The view of Paris from the Sacre Coeur is stunning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_du_Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Parishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_du_Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Paris
